LG Autonomy: Lagos council boss lauds Tinubu over Supreme Court verdict

The Executive Chairman of Itire-Ikate LCDA, Hon. (Dr) Ahmed Olanrenwaju Apatira, has congratulated President Bola Tinubu on the Supreme Court judgment which granted autonomy to local government areas in the country.

The council boss also commended the Supreme Court for the historic judgment.

The apex court had affirmed the financial autonomy of Nigeria’s 774 local governments. The Supreme Court unanimously upheld the suit brought by the Federal Government to strengthen the independence of local governments in the country.

With the judgment, Apatira said Tinubu has demonstrated a rare courage and uncommon leadership acumen by granting independence to the third tier of government.

According to him, the president has restored confidence and the improved delivery of dividends of democracy to the people at the grassroots.

Speaking on the impact of the judgment on local government administration, he disclosed that the autonomy would allow the local governments to provide better healthcare, education, and infrastructure for their respective communities.

He added, “The local government administration is the closest to the grassroots therefore the Supreme Court judgment cannot but translate to greater development in terms of infrastructure development, socio-economic growth, healthcare care, improved workers’ welfare, and more. As the closest to the people at the grassroots, local government should be able to impact the lives of the people and initiate life-changing projects beyond what they are currently doing.

For instance in Lagos State, the transformative strides of Governor Babajide Sanwo-olu is evident across all sectors of the state economy. With the financial autonomy granted to local government, the efforts of Mr Governor will be complemented at the grassroots level and this in the end translates to improved quality of life for Lagosians.

Contrary to speculations in some quarters, autonomous LGs will complement the efforts of state governments in primary healthcare and education and like I said earlier, improve workers’ welfare and also in the fight against insecurity.

With the judgment, reasons for the establishment of LGs can be achieved as it would translate to practical development across the nation. Once again, I congratulate President Tinubu for entrenching democracy at the grassroots level.”